More Chromework

The 3/16" UNF studs that hold the headlight surrounds were rusted to the point that it was silly to try to restore them. Curiously, an M5 bolt has the same thread pitch and so close to the same outer and inner diameters that it is impossible to tell them apart in normal use. So I bought some M5 bolts and turned them into studs.

 Here is the lower, small piece for the front side area with its new stud.











...and here is where it goes.

I don't know why I took this picture - I think it just amused me. Front chromework before installing in the car - laid out on the lounge room floor for the family to admire (they made the right noises).

Still going on Brightwork

I'm still progressing. The front chrome is mostly on the car with the exception of the headlight "eyebrows" which are due for pick-up on Wednesday.
I'll post some pics then.

Brightwork Restoration

"Brightwork" is the name the classic car fraternity give to all the shiny metal on a classic car - chromework, stainless steel trim etc.
I realised that I need to clean up the side trim (stainless on the Vogue) and various other trim pieces. Here are the door sill guards which are made of aluminium so I can't do too much with them. I decided just to polish them up and apply a coat of clear spray enamel. The rust stains are from the self tappers that used to hold them on.

The top one has been polished and clear applied.

The middle one is just cleaned up - you can't tell much from the picture.

The bottom one is as it came off the car.





A close up of the "before".

Headlining ready for Gluing

Now we are back from holidays it's time to get to work on the Vogue again. We finished clipping the headlining into place at the back of the roof and it looks great - way better than we thought it was going to be. The minor wrinkles you can see around the edge will come out when we glue it in.

I'll have a lot of butterfly clips to spare when we have finished.